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Mathieu Lehanneur’s Olympic cauldron takes flight from the Jardin des Tuileries.
French designer Mathieu Lehanneur created an electric Olympic cauldron for the Paris 2024 Games. Lehanneur’s creation is inspired by traditional hot-air balloons but features a non-combusting “electric flame” created by LED lights and mist. The cauldron rises into the sky at sunset from the Jardin des Tuileries, a symbol of liberty and a complement to his torch and relay cauldron designs.
Toyota’s Olympics sponsorship sparks a guerilla climate protest campaign in France.
Climate activists have launched a guerrilla poster campaign in Paris and five other French cities, condemning Toyota’s sponsorship of the 2024 Olympics due to the automaker’s high greenhouse gas emissions. Organized by Résistance à l’Agression Publicitaire and Brandalism, the campaign features more than 100 posters that have been installed in bus shelters and criticize Toyota’s environmental impact, comparing its emissions to those of entire countries.
The CFDA and Tiffany & Co. have launched a fellowship for emerging jewelry designers.
Tiffany & Co. and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) have announced a fellowship and award to recognize outstanding American jewelry designers committed to inclusivity and creative excellence. The winner will receive a yearlong fellowship at Tiffany & Co.’s design department and an award of $50,000. The initiative is part of Tiffany Atrium’s social impact platform and CFDA’s Impact program, and aims to foster the next generation of American jewelry designers and elevate the craft to the same level as womenswear and menswear.
Watch out, Google: Open AI has announced a forthcoming SearchGPT prototype.
OpenAI is testing SearchGPT, a new AI-powered search engine prototype. SearchGPT is poised to challenge Google by citing sources in its responses to search queries. The prototype will be available on a web browser and aims to offer a conversational search experience with features like follow-up questions and in line attribution of information. To that end, OpenAI has secured licensing deals with publishers to ensure access to reliable information, although it faces legal challenges from some newspapers for alleged copyright violations.
After 26 years with OMA, longtime principal Ellen van Loon steps down from the firm.
Ellen van Loon, who had been at OMA since 1998, has stepped down after 26 years, leaving behind a legacy of award-winning projects including Casa da Musica in Porto and the Dutch Embassy in Berlin. Managing partner David Gianotten expressed optimism about the firm’s future, and emphasized that the firm will welcome new partners and female leaders “in due course.”
Today’s attractive distractions:
A lewd encounter with a statue could ban this woman from Florence for life.
Apparently, drawing on walls is for grownups now—even the aesthetically -inclined.
A circle of famous film buffs might revive an arthouse cinema in New York City.
Tom Anderson—that is, Myspace Tom— is a landscape photographer now.
